Gordon Hayward was not a fan of Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game on Tuesday.
Hayward, who spent 14 seasons in the NBA with the Jazz, Celtics, Hornets, and Thunder, said on ESPN’s “Unsportsmanlike” radio show that Adebayo’s performance is not great for the league, and it feels “not legit.”
“I think Bam is one of the best two-way players in the league at his position, but he’s not a scorer, right?” Hayward quipped Thursday. “So for him to break [Kobe Bryant’s] record, I don’t think it’s great for the league. I think it kind of highlights how they’re already struggling. It kind of feels like a pickup game when you’re watching.
“And for him to shoot 43 free throws and 22 threes, when that’s not what he does, it almost feels like… and again, the Wizards too. With all these teams tanking, it kind of makes it feel not legit, I guess, is what I would say.”
Many have been critical of the method by which Adebayo achieved his massive scoring total, as the Heat intentionally fouled late in the game to stop the play clock so the big man had the chance to overcome Bryant’s 81-point performance on Jan. 22, 2006.
Play-by-play analyst Doris Burke said she was “uncomfortable” with the fouling and the fact Adebayo racked up an NBA-record 43 free throws, with 21 of his points in the fourth quarter coming from the charity stripe.
“Was I slightly uncomfortable with the six-minute mark and down with some of the intentional fouling and free throws? A little bit,” Burke said Wednesday night on ESPN.
“But I am taking nothing away from Bam Adebayo.”
Lakers head coach JJ Redick added to the negative discourse, saying that the game’s final moments were a “different type of basketball.”
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra dismissed the blowback, however, saying that he has zero regrets over what went down.
“I apologize to absolutely no one. Period,” he told reporters ahead of the Heat’s 112-105 win against the Bucks on Thursday. “And going into the game, it’s a Tuesday night game against a team where they’re not playing for anything, where their organization is trying to lose.
“We’ve already lost a game, you know, in that kind of situation. We have players [who] are sitting out. And I spoke to Bam about what I want, as our best player and team captain, for him to be locked in and ready. And he sure was.”
